The present invention relates to a vital sign telemeter serving as patient monitor for respectively determining and monitoring vital signals (vital signs), such as an electrocardiograph, respiration, blood pressure, body temperature, and oxygen saturation (SpO2) in blood, of a patient in a serious condition in an ICU, CCU, or an emergency room, a patient undergoing an operation, or a patient being in an emergency transportation, or a patient whose condition can change suddenly.
Nowadays, a vital sign telemeter of this type must be capable of simultaneous measurement of a number of measurement items (parameters); and a vital sign telemeter which is configured to be able to measure electrocardiogram, a respiration curve, body temperature, oxygen saturation (SpO2) in blood, non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP), or the like, as the first parameters has been proposed and put into practice. Furthermore, as functional configurations for a vital sign telemeter of this kind, the following are important: being compact, lightweight, and easily attachable to a patient (living body); display of processing results of vital sign data is easily viewed so that conditions of a patient can be recognized; capable of being operated for a long time with stability; providing highly reliable data and alarm; convenient to handle and operate; and the like.
There is known a vital sign telemeter, which is configured so as to measure vital signals (vital signs) constituted of a number of parameters; e.g., an electrocardiogram, impedance respiration, oxygen saturation (SpO2) in blood, and non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP); to receive the signals, and to process and display the signals as required vital sign data, has a large configuration, and has complicated signal wiring of sensors for measurement of the respective parameters. Accordingly, difficulty is encountered when a patient walks while wearing such a vital sign telemeter attached to an upper arm thereof, which poses restrictions on the patients activities. Namely, the vital sign telemeter has a drawback of sacrificing the patient's QOL (quality of life).
Furthermore, as equipment for measurement of a single vital signal as found in a blood pressure monitor, there is known equipment in which a cuff for measurement of blood pressure and a device configured to process a measured vital signal, thereby displaying the vital signal, are integrated to be attached to an upper arm of a patient or the like. However, as described hitherto, there has been neither suggested nor embodied a vital sign telemeter in which a detector, a processor and a display for vital signals constituted of a number of parameters as required vital signals are integrated, and configured to be attached to an upper arm of a patient, or the like, to thus enable monitoring of the patient at the patient's side or from a remote site in an easy and convenient manner.